Population structure and history of a phenotypically variable teiid lizard (Ameiva chrysolaema) from Hispaniola: the influence of a geologically complex island.

Ameiva chrysolaema is distributed across the island of Hispaniola in the West Indies. The species is restricted to dry lowlands between major mountain ranges and along the southern and eastern coasts. Phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses of mtDNA sequence variation from 14 sampling localities identify at least three independent evolutionary lineages, separated from one another by major mountain ranges.

Microstructure, evolution, and ontogeny of scale surfaces in cordylid and gerrhosaurid lizards.

The distal oberhautchen and proximal beta layer of 41 species and every genus of cordylid and gerrhosaurid lizard were examined with a scanning electron microscope. Scale organs in these families are concentrated on the face, and scale organs occur singly or in pairs below the keel on the dorsals of cordylids but not gerrhosaurids. Most species examined possess primitive, lenticular scale organs.